Stephen Sondheim has called it “The first really good experimental show” – and he should know. He was a gofer on the short-lived original production in 1947 and, for old times sake and because Sondheim has always championed the bravely theatrical, he has a key line of dialogue from Oscar Hammerstein’s ground-breaking book in the … [Read More]
Edward Seckerson
Reviews, Blogs, Podcasts
Reviews, Podcasts and Blogs
Classical music, Opera and Musical Theatre reviews
Monthly Archives: October 2010
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN “ALLEGRO” FIRST COMPLETE RECORDING (MASTERWORKS BROADWAY) Review for GRAMOPHONE magazine
Posted in Musical Theatre, Reviews
SONDHEIM – IN GOOD COMPANY
My 3-part podcast tribute to Stephen Sondheim goes LIVE on 22nd March – THE INDEPENDENT ONLINE, WHAT’S ON STAGE, THE ARTS DESK, AND PLAYBILL
What’s On Stage starts the countdown below:
Countdown: Happy birthday, Stephen Sondheim!
Date: 16 March 2010
On Monday 22 March 2010, American composer and … [Read More]
Posted in Asides
London Philharmonic Orchestra/ Jurowski **** – Royal Festival Hall
Vladimir Jurowski had pointedly opted for an orchestra of modest proportions for this evening of Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Mahler, and the lay-out of the London Philharmonic Orchestra with woodwinds, brasses, and basses tiered at the centre of the sound made for a satisfying concentration of sombre Protestant colours in the introduction of Mendelssohn’s 5th Symphony … [Read More]
Posted in Reviews
London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/ Whitacre
Barbican Hall
Eric Whitacre made us wait for the choral moment that has so quickly become a global phenomenon. Lux Aurumque (Light of Gold) went viral on YouTube launching Whitacre’s “virtual choir” from cyberspace in a haze of far-reaching, mystical, harmonies. Whitacre writes choral music that is as old … [Read More]
Posted in Reviews
SONDHEIM/WEIDMAN “ROAD SHOW” CAST ALBUM (NONESUCH/PS CLASSICS) Review for GRAMOPHONE magazine
The long gestation of Road Show – formally Wise Guys, Gold, and Bounce (which was also recorded by Nonesuch/PS Classics) – could eventually catch up with the 40-year time span of the show if Sondheim were not finally to let it go, once and … [Read More]
Posted in Asides
Stephen Sondheim
In Conversation with Edward Seckerson
On Sunday 21st May 2006, Stephen Sondheim spoke to Edward Seckerson in front of an audience at The Queen’s Theatre in London. Hosted by the Sondheim Society, the event gave us a unique insight into this extraordinary creative genius. Many of the questions came from the audience … [Read More]
Posted in Asides
SONDHEIM – IN GOOD COMPANY
My 3-part podcast tribute to Stephen Sondheim goes LIVE on 22nd March – THE INDEPENDENT ONLINE, WHAT’S ON STAGE, THE ARTS DESK, AND PLAYBILL
What’s On Stage starts the countdown below:
Countdown: Happy birthday, Stephen Sondheim!
Date: 16 March 2010
On Monday 22 March 2010, American composer and … [Read More]
Posted in Asides
Simon Keenlyside/ Julius Drake
Temple Church
There were moments in Schubert’s song Verklärung (“Transfiguration”) where the splendour of the declamation and the whispering of spirits from the next world seemed almost too vivid to be true. “The world recedes, it is no more”, sang Simon Keenlyside, and the sound of his voice doing just that … [Read More]
Posted in Reviews
Steffani Niobe, Regina di Tebe
Royal Opera House
Agostino Steffani (who?) may have been consigned to a footnote in musical history but here’s why he was such a big deal in the realm of 17th century courtly drama. He wrote extravagantly – Niobe was the first of his operas where the aria count fell below … [Read More]
Posted in Reviews
Bizet Les Pecheurs de Perles
Royal Opera House
The mis en scène of some operas really is best left to the imagination. Penny Woolcock had a good crack at Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers at ENO last season but notwithstanding the excellence of her Esther Williams swimming effects the opera’s cheesy melodrama hardly supported her “social … [Read More]
Posted in Reviews
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